After months at sea, sailors aboard the USS New Hampshire are back home in the arms of their loved ones Wednesday.
It was a moment Sarah Eastwood was waiting for. But she didn't expect her boyfriend of five years, Petty Officer 2nd Class Benjamin Gaston, to get down on one knee and propose when he walked off the ship.
"I said yes of course," said Eastwood, shaking and choking back tears.
Moments before Gaston arrived, Eastwood said the couple is "really excited to just start our new lives," adding Gaston's contract with the Navy ends in February.
It was a sweet homecoming for dozens of families and friends.
"Dad! I want to tell you something," were the first words out of 4-year-old Carter Wolff's mouth. He and his 7-year-old brother, Blake, got to give the first hug to their father, Chief Petty Officer Brett Wolff. The two, sprinting over and jumping into Wolff's arms.
The first kiss was shared by Haley Price and Petty Officer 3rd Class Johnathan Price. The two got married just before the ship deployed.
"We're all kind of used to this feeling. It's just part of life," said Shawn Smith, waiting to greet his brother Clayton, who was on the USS New Hampshire.
The Smiths are a military family. Smith and his twin brother, Shane, serve the Navy. Their brother Christopher is deployed with the Air Force. Their father, Ronald, is retired Army.
"I am absolutely proud of him," said Ronald Smith of his son, Clayton.
"Interesting times over sea, but it's nice to be back home where everything is familiar," Clayton Smith said of his experience aboard the USS New Hampshire. "All the light sockets play the stuff that I want to plug-in..."
The Virginia-class, fast-attack submarine travels about 46,000 standard miles. That's equal to about 1.84 trips around the world at the equator.
The submarine made stops at ports in Norway, Scotland, and France.
Thirty-three sailors and four officers earned their Submarine Warfare Qualification, seven officers were promoted to the next rank, 12 re-enlisted during deployment.
The USS New Hampshire was commissioned on Oct. 25, 2008. It's the third Navy ship to be named after the state of New Hampshire.
Photo Credit: NBC Connecticut